NASA could detect alien life on other worlds using a telescope-powered ‘sniff test’

NASA’s James Webb telescope is scheduled to blast into space in 2019, where it will probe distant corners of the known universe, studying exoplanets. NASA Webb Telescope/Maggie Masetti
In their search for life on other planets, scientists say they want to start using a new sense: smell.
They’re hoping that by sniffing out and tracking down chemicals like methane and carbon dioxide via telescope, they’ll be able to find more places that could be good breeding grounds for microbes, even if there’s no oxygen present.